New Orleans Activist Points to Neglected Corpse as U.S. Military Passes Off Blame

Democracy Now! broadcasts from Baton Rouge, Louisiana - a city that has been flooded with people pouring out of New Orleans and its surrounding area since before Hurricane Katrina hit. We have spent the weekend traveling around New Orleans, surveying the devastation, talking to scores of people.

The city remains under a curfew and there are police and military checkpoints everywhere. In the time we have been here, we have encountered law enforcement officers from nearly every possible agency under the sun. New Orleans has been transformed into a complete militarized zone. There are still areas of the city that have not been reached by rescue workers and there are a number of large makeshift morgues that have been set up. There is still no firm death toll. Last night, President Bush reportedly slept aboard the USS Iwo Jima and he is touring the area once again beginning here in Louisiana. In New Orleans itself there are people who are refusing the evacuation order and are calling on the government to restore their gas and electricity. But most areas remain like a ghost town.

We spoke with community organizer Malik Rahim in the Algiers neighborhood. He is one of those who has refused to leave.

* Malik Rahim, a veteran of the Black Panther Party in New Orleans. For decades he has worked as an organizer of public housing tenants both there and in San Francisco. He recently ran for New Orleans City Council on the Green Party ticket.

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